I was left very underwhelmed by this book, it may have been the narration of the audiobook that I felt didn’t help this book, but I feel it was more than that.

We have two main characters struggling, one with their anxiety and another the death of his brother, and on a bike ride a split second decision leads to them entering alternate parallel universes.

Others may enjoy this book more than I did, but I just found it difficult to buy into the characters and what they were going through, and I found the ending quite disappointing.

This book was not for me, neither of the characters were pleasant to follow and I had no desire to find out how their lives could have turned out

An intriguing tale built on the endlessly fascinating idea of alternative universes. It is well written, and I liked that the narrator changes between male and female according to the POVs. The characters were interesting, if not a little ordinary, but they do transform as the book develops.

I wanted so badly to like this, but I'm not sure if it was the narrators or the plot, I just found it hard to follow. I wasn't the biggest fan of the characters which meant I didn't exactly have much care on what happened. Hannah and James didn't hold my attention, I didn't exactly care about them which left the story feeling flat. The characters needed more depth to make this a win for me, I needed to care about them and their feelings and I just didn't. I liked the concept of the story - maybe it's better reading instead of listening? The cover is beautiful - it's what caught my eye in the first place!

1.5- This audiobook has been on my NetGalley shelf for well over a year and because I’m not sure how to listen to audiobooks through NetGalley, I used an Audible credit to listen to it. It wasn’t time wasted, as I cleaned out my laundry while listening, but I am so upset I wasted a credit on this.
Helen and James are a couple and they just moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. Helen is 46 and a cookbook author and James is an HR recruiter (age unknown). He’s still coping with the death of his younger brother which happened a few years before the opening of this book. While they are alive, they aren’t really living. One day, on a bike ride, Helen decides to go to left instead of following James who goes straight and enters an alternate reality where her life is taking place having made a different decision 20 years before than the other Helen made.
I was excited for this because the synopsis compared it to The Midnight Library and Sliding Doors. While it did have an alternate reality and while we do see how Helen’s choice plays a part in changing her reality, it is so poorly executed that comparing it to those two masterpieces is an insult.
I listened to this and for the first 75% of the book, the chapters alternated between Helen and James (narrated by the author and JS Arquin). At about the 75% mark, though, it suddenly changes to both narrators in one chapter, and towards the end of that chapter it changes to the female narrator with the male narrator saying James’ dialogue and that’s how it is for the remainder of the book, still alternating between the narrators, though. Suffice to say, I was beyond confused at first. What was the author’s motive? Was it to show that in this alternate reality both characters end up meeting again? Was it supposed to be meta with us actually listening to the book Helen was writing, which was the book Becky Parker Geist wrote? Whatever it was, I didn’t think it worked at all and it was a sour ending to an already sour book.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
I have very mixed feels about this one. On the one hand, I didn't really connect with either of the MCs and I did feel the story dragging on at points. On the other hand I was driven to finish the book in spite of this because I did want to know how things were going to work out. I think I could have done without the commentary on spirituality (for lack of a better description) because it felt very heavy handed and like the reactions of the characters in those moments were a bit forced. I think it was also a contributer to the pacing issue. Other than that I did enjoy the story/ plot for the most part.
As for the narration, for the most part it was okay but the male voice actor kept on doing this thing where he essentially shouted any dialog and that wasn't great.

This was a quick and easy read that held my attention the whole time. I do wish the ending were a little different but that’s ok. I enjoyed this book.

Though I love, love the concept of split time and “what ifs”, I truly could not get into this author’s voice. There is a dry flatness in the wording that made it hard for me to relate to their experience. It may be better read than as an audiobook.

This was not for me. Reminded me so much of Matt Haig's The Midnight Library, and I hated that book. Said that, this book might be just the right for The Midnight Library lovers.

This whole book took ✨manifesting✨ and made it a plot. If you tell me there are parallel universes and that there are infinite versions of each of us, I totally buy that, but as a person who has a bachelor in physics I think I am allowed to say that I see nothing of quantum physics in ✨manifesting✨. And ok you are not happy with how is your life developing right now, I can get that, but you need to do something about it, not just some ✨manifesting✨ and hoping some synchronicities happen. It was a flop.

This book made me feel: Reflective

I went into this book expecting a sci-fi novel about self-discovery, and what I got was a philosophical meditation on time, connection, and synchronicity.

Maybe if I had started this book with the right frame of mind I would have enjoyed it more, since the conversations between characters about coincidence vs destiny were discussions I could see myself enjoying with other people. But in terms of a book, it lacked tension, conflict, and that something that keeps me interested in reading on. I was more than halfway into the book and thought I was still in exposition, all while receiving a lecture on time from the characters' dialogue/thoughts instead of their lives showing me all these little realizations.

*3.5 Stars On My Instagram Account*

"What if I consciously alter my life?"

Anxious Hannah and grieving James take a different turn on their usual bike ride and find themselves in a foggy memory alternate universe where they are no longer a couple in the very metaphysical The Left Turn: Two Lives World Apart by multifaceted author Becky Parker Geist.

Narrated by the author and J.S. Arquin two lovers find a life without the other. There's a lot of spiritual and science theories, introspection but little romance. With new perspectives they must decide which way to turn next.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley

This was a cool idea and I am thankful to netgalley for the read. I liked the premise. I think it was hard to keep up via audiobook maybe physical copy would have been easier but lots of elements in the book. Something for everyone.

Hannah, a writer who suffers from anxiety, and James, her partner, an HR recruited overwhelmed by grief after the death of his brother. One sunny morning, the pair decide to take a bike ride. Suddenly, they each find themselves in other versions of their lives, with a mental fog keeping them from remembering their recent past. They have to look inside to figure out who they are.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, and honestly, I found it hard to keep up the thread of what was happening and what, if any, point this novel was trying to make. Maybe it would be better if you read it as a physical book and can go back and reference past passages more easily. I have read other books where characters find themselves in an alternate universe, and I just felt like this book didn’t make the best use of that trope. Overall, it was only an OK read for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

If your past VANISHED . . . Who might you become?

Hannah, a forty-six year old author plagued with anxiety, and her partner James, an HR recruiter caught in a headlock of grief over his brother’s death, are as desperate for inner peace as they are clueless about how to find it.

But when they embark on a sunny bike ride shortly after moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, a split-second decision propels them into different versions of their lives—ones they don’t recognize as their own. With a mental fog obscuring their recent past and who they were, they are forced to dig inside themselves to figure out who they are now. Surprising discoveries about the nature of the universe send them on a psychological journey towards who they can be.

But will they be able to let go of their deeply ingrained subconscious beliefs about life and themselves to embrace the unfamiliar potentials they now face?

Both narrators for this book were great and I enjoyed the general storyline, however I found my mind wandering during the physics and metaphysics parts of the book. I think I may have been able to stay focused more if I read the book rather than l listened to it.

I enjoyed Hannah’s sections of the book much more than James, primarily because I was able to relate to Hannah much more than James. I also felt that Hannah’s character was much more open about trying to move forward and make the best of the situation where James preferred to dwell on the past.

This is the first book in the series and I would consider continuing the series however I don’t think I would do so via audiobook.

"If you could leave behind the baggage of your past . . . Who would you become?" The Left Turn plays with the idea that we can write our own stories if we manage to get rid of the baggage from our past that holds us back. As a forty-something woman who has made mistakes and carries baggage that she wish she could get rid of, I could identify with Hannah and Jim. The writing and narration, especially of Hannah's story, drew me in and let me feel her disorientation and her need to find out about herself.
This is book one in a series. I wonder what the author has in store for Hannah and Jim in the next instalment of their story.

With thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced digital audiobook.

I received an advance copy of the audio book on NetGalley.

Audiobook wise I loved the female narrator over the male. She really helped me get into the story.

Hannah and James go for a bike ride and take two different paths which ends up being alternate universes. What would happen if you decided to do something different. How one decision can affect your life in different ways.

At first I enjoyed it. It was a bit weird and not something I would normally read. When I chose the book based on the description, I did not realize it was a book about different alternate universes. But while listening I kept an open mind. Until Lee comes into the story. I don't know but the whole "Lee" story line just put a huge damper in the book for me. I pretty much lost interest after it.

I do recommend that if you plan to read it, go with the book and not the audiobook. It was really hard to keep up with everything going on in the audio.

The plot of this book was a bit confusing and didn't draw me in. The book seemed to end without coming to a solid conclusion about what was happening. I wouldn't read this again.

The left turn - Becky Parker Geist

I swear a lot of these that I am giving reviews for I have already done. This book wasn’t great but not the worst thing I’ve read this year!

This is an intriguing speculative novel. It is well worth the effort to walk the road to the opening of the mind with these characters. It was a wonderful way to let some deeper questions enter my heart and mind. I love coming out of a novel knowing I have truly had a novel experience. Hannah and James were sincere and real, thank you Becky for sharing their stories with us. The teaser for book 2 tells me there's more in store for Jim and Hannah and all the versions of themselves. I can't wait to read more and see what journey will be in store for Hannah and James. The audiobook is great, I do enjoy a joint perspective with two narrators, it makes the experience more real.

This book was such a disappointment. I'm a sucker for 'sliding doors' scenarios, but this book spent so much time trying to convince the reader that the mind and the universe and physics and the multiverse are all intertwined, that the story didn't matter. It felt more like a lecture at some metaphysical retreat than a novel you'd read for fun; it was talking at you not to you.

I listened to the audiobook, and the author is one of the narrators. She was good, it was easy to follow when she was reading. JS Arquin's voice was not to my taste. He was a fine reader, but I didn't enjoy listening to him - purely personal taste.

My thanks to NetGalley and Pro Audio Voices Inc, for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.